Moderate alcohol consumption is common and often considered harmless to brain health. However, a recent British study affirms the opposite and suggests that alcohol consumption, even limited, could have deleterious effects on the brain.
No amount of alcohol safe for the brain
Alcohol would have an almost immediate effect on our body, regardless of the amount of alcoholic drink ingested. In any case, this is what researchers from Oxford say. Pending peer review and relayed by the newspaper The Guardian, the British point by means of a study, the harmful effects on the brain associated with alcohol consumption. “There is no consumption threshold for damage … All alcohol is worse. It is practically the entire brain that seems to be affected, and not just specific areas, as previously thought.”said lead author Anya Topiwala, senior lecturer in clinical medicine at the University of Oxford.
To reach these conclusions, the researchers used the UK Biobank, a large database designed to help researchers decode the genetic and environmental factors that lead some people to develop diseases while others do not. not. In detail, the scientists looked at data from 25,378 Britons, such as age, gender, social class, self-reported alcohol consumption, and brain size and condition based on MRI scans.
Gray matter impacted
The threshold for alcohol consumption necessary to cause brain damage is unknown according to the researchers. However “A higher volume of alcohol consumption per week was associated with a lower density of gray matter”, explain the researchers. “Alcohol explaining up to 0.8% variation in the volume of gray matter, even after taking into account individual biological and behavioral characteristics”, they add. This figure may seem insignificant, yet its contribution is greater than other identified modifiable risk factors, such as, for example, smoking. Combining the two can cause damage to the brain.
To consume … with even more moderation
Wines, spirits or beers … no difference! The study found no evidence to suggest which type of alcoholic drink is best to consume, as they without exception confer risks to the brain. In France, health authorities recommend limiting consumption to a maximum of two drinks per day and not to consume alcohol every day.
